The National Elections Commission (NEC) has begun the final process of deduplication and adjudication of voters’ information and is set to release the figures in the coming days.
While the voting process will remain manual, the voter registration process was Liberia’s first switch to a biometric registration system. Although this biometric registration helped to mitigate double registration, the registration process still faced numerous complexities.
According to the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC), Liberia’s largest domestic election observation network, phase one of the voter registration process included “isolated instances of equipment failure, shortage in registration materials (card and ink), instances of voter trucking, and violence”.
The ECC also noted the low presence of security and party agents during phase one.
Array of issues
The ECC report for phase two of the process also noted that while “registration procedures improved during phase two of the biometric voter registration (BVR) process, voter trucking, lack of security, and the malfunctioning of equipment still persisted”. In addition, there were reports of underage voting in the southeast, where the president hails from.
Voter trucking, which is the transportation of voters from one location to another to influence election results, remains rife in Liberia’s elections. Albert Chie, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate was accused of trucking voters from across the country to boost his re-election in Grand Kru County. His case is one of many during the registration period.
In some instances, voter trucking has led to violence.
- In March, riots erupted in District 10 in Monrovia between supporters of the ruling party – the Coalition of Democratic Change – and supporters of Yekeh Koluba, a member of the House of Representatives and government critic.
- Violence was reportedly due to allegations of voter trucking, coupled with a march on the streets of the district by Emmanuel Johnson – chairman of the Youth League of the ruling party. His group clashed with Koluba’s support group after the former failed to adhere to a police order to disperse.
In border counties, the NEC’s inconsistency in requesting proof of eligibility from registrants could exacerbate tensions and fears of voter trucking from neighbouring counties. It may also reduce public faith in the commission.
Political parties react
Prior to the registration process, opposition parties had also rejected the census result that recorded an 87% population increase in the southeast region. In both the census and voter registration, the opposition remains unconvinced by the final outcome.
“The party remains dissatisfied over the voter registration process. We recorded instances of voter intimidation and technical failures which were widespread in opposition areas,” Kula Fofana, the Unity Party chairperson on media and publicity said:
“In many places, especially in rural Liberia, the commission did not carry out adequate voter education. As a result, a lot of people were unaware of the registration process. We have collated our concerns and written to the elections commission. We have also requested that the elections commission extends the voter registration period to account for the technical glitches and inadequate voter education.”
In a 20 May press release, NEC noted that several duplicates and underage registrations were detected, and their voter information was deactivated until further investigation.
The release also stated that the exhibition of the provisional registration roll (PRR) – whereby voters can verify their identity information – will be from 12 June to 17 June. The commission also asked citizens to report all concerns during the exhibition exercise to ensure that only eligible voters remain on the voters’ roll.
Inadequate funding
An underlying problem of many of the challenges faced during the registration process has been the lack of adequate funding for the elections commission. Despite cutting the initial election’s budget from $91m to $61m, the government has also been slow in providing the funds where needed.
The funding issue has affected the election process. For instance, voter registration was carried out in two phases. In April, the chairperson of the NEC, Davidetta Brown Lansanah, admitted that inadequate funding has disrupted voter education activities.
“The lack of adequate funding will affect the election process as there might be delays in getting materials and paying personnel. Additionally, if any delay in funding affects the timeline of the carrying out of elections, it might lead to chaos,” Joshua Kulah, a lawyer a political science lecturer at the United Methodist University in Liberia, tells The Africa Report.
However, while these numerous issues plagued the registration process, many voters still plan to vote.
“I think the registration process could have been better, but this is Liberia and things don’t work like they are supposed to work,” says Sarah, 31, who runs a local bar. “However, I have to look forward. I will still be voting and my vote must count.”
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